Hawaii punter Alex Dunnachie was suspended on Friday for an indefinite number of football games, hours after he pleaded no contest to a drunken-driving charge in Honolulu District Court.
Head coach Norm Chow said Dunnachie will rejoin the team on Monday and will be allowed to participate in team activities such as meetings and practices. Dunnachie remains on scholarship. Dunnachie, 21, had been held out of training camp, which began Wednesday, until his court appearance.
"I don’t think there’s any question he’s very remorseful," Chow said. "He’s a young man. He made a mistake. He needs to rebuild the relationship with his teammates."
Dunnachie was arrested July 7 at 2:30 a.m. on Piikoi Street on suspicion of drunken driving. He also was cited for not being in possession of his driver’s license and driving with an expired safety-check sticker.
As protocol in these cases, Dunnachie’s driver’s license was revoked and replaced with a temporary license. Last week, his license was reinstated.
Attorney Paul Cunney said he believed Dunnachie would have been acquitted had the case been forwarded to a jury trial. But Dunnachie said he decided to enter the no-contest plea because he wanted to "move on" and begin rebuilding his relationship with the coaches and teammates.
"I felt as a senior person on the team, it’s part of my responsibility to stand up to it, and lead by example, and show the rest of the players it’s not the right thing to do, and there are consequences to your actions," Dunnachie said. "It’s good to be given this chance to man up and accept responsibility."
Cunney said Dunnachie decided to forgo a trial knowing that there were no assurances on the type of sentence that would be administered. Dunnachie is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 24.
Chow said Dunnachie is suspended for breaking team rules, not for violating the UH code of conduct for students. Chow said he has not determined the number of games Dunnachie will miss.
Quarterback Cayman Shutter pleaded no contest to a DUI charge in June and is suspended for the first four weeks of the 2012 season. Shutter is participating in training camp. Linebacker Alema Tachibana, who pleaded not guilty to a DUI charge, is restricted from team activities until after his trial on Oct. 15.
"There has to be some sort of punishment," Dunnachie said after his court appearance. "Coach Chow hasn’t given me any sort of indication what that punishment will be. I have to rebuild the relationship with the coaches and the rest of my teammates, and show them I’m worthy of being back on the team."
Dunnachie, who has NFL aspirations and is one of UH’s top pro prospects this season, is the only punter on the roster. Running back Joey Iosefa and receivers Scott Harding and Chinedu Amadi have been handling punting duties in Dunnachie’s absence.
